Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

released on Jul 20, 1990
by Konami

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is an action-adventure stealth video game created and published by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform. Acting as a direct continuation of the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear, it was written and designed by the series' creator, Hideo Kojima. Kojima's inspiration for this game arose as a response to the development of Snake's Revenge, a separate sequel being produced simultaneously for the NES, intended primarily for the North American and European markets.


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a huge improvement. It still didn't age the best today. But they went even more insane with the great ideas and concepts from the first game. The game has cutscenes. An MSX2 game has a great story with cutscenes and twists.

And of course this game added my favourite mechanic in a videogame. The codec. This genius mechanic lets you call your crew to navigate you through areas and bosses. But it's not that basic. It's a way to give these characters more depth. They don't just advise you this is where so many of the character interactions happen. They sometimes just comment on stuff you do in gameplay too. It lets you fall in love with characters who don't even show up physically in the game(Master Miller 🔥).

Depressing how miniscule the amount of "AAA" action games that have come out since have been designed this well is. Also maybe the best written action game of the time?

It's hard to believe Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was made for the same hardware that its predecessor released on just three years prior. As many have pointed out before, this plays almost like a 2D version of Metal Gear Solid. It has the cinematic presentation, the wacky characters and winding story, and the stealth-action gameplay that Metal Gear Solid would go on to further refine in 1998. The game has a lot of style and confidence, and tells a fairly fleshed-out story for its time. Hideo Kojima and his team proved themselves capable of growth and perhaps even greatness.

The game's ambition comes not without growing pains. And the game is unfortunately held back in some ways by the aging hardware of its time. Navigation feels awkwardly segmented with the game's grid-based maps and frequent loading transitions. Most optional codec conversations are either unhelpful, uninteresting, or unfunny, and often lack any relevance to Snake's immediate situation. The game unfortunately also falls back on the same cryptic gameplay that plagued the first game.

With that being said, Metal Gear 2 has a lot to like for fans of the later games. And when you manage to get through a room undiscovered or find the obscure solution to an environmental puzzle, the game can be quite satisfying. I think I'll just stick to the 3D games, but this was fairly enjoyable and great to play as a fan of the series.

severely underrated. if your a fan of the later metal gear games i highly recommend

This was a lot better than the first game, and is probably my favorite game from the 80s. The story is really good, the gameplay is still janky but a lot better, the the music is a bit jump up.

Honestly, while like its predecessor, it's impossible to finish without a guide, these games are so thrilling and engaging that I honestly don't mind.